This article states that the Russians will be using a special type of ice that will help skaters jump higher. What is it and has it ever been used before?I wonder how it will affect skaters who've trained under "normal" ice. I hope it doesn't throw them off.
Coming from the Russians this is kind of suspicious...
What a bizarre sentence, stuck into an otherwise run-of-the-mill self-congratulatory article. (?)
Uh-oh...is this the equivalent of fake turf for field sports , non-natural track for racecourses ? Hmmmm....
Eta ; I f someone falls, will they bounce ?
Last edited by colleen o'neill; 04-22-2011 at 08:28 PM.
What is this special ice?
Maybe they're not related at all but it made me think about the old blog I read from Allison Scott - Jeremy Abbott's mom.
http://ontheedgeofskating.blogspot.c...&max-results=7
On October 12, 2010 entry, she wrote:
She even has a photo there.For years, the place where I work was considered the home of figure skating. While the arena was torn down in 1994 and replaced with a new training facility about three miles away, my dream was to some day skate there. Last week, I finally got my wish - sort of. A coach whose famous last name is synonymous with a legacy of ice shows, organized some young skaters to perform for a convention group. No, he didn't get tank ice; he didn't actually get ice. What was installed was synthetic sheets of something that looked like packing material. I was intrigued. In the middle of our convention facility, laid out like Leggos, was a faux rink. Measuring 30' x 40' , this surface appeared to be something appropriate for Ken and Barbie. I watched several young athletes work their way around the rectangle, making it look so easy. Double Axel, camel spin, pairs lifts, Ina Bauer, catch-foot spin. I was in awe.
After everyone left, except for two colleagues who I trusted not to laugh, I sat in my business clothes, laced up my skates and ventured forth to the "Great Unknown." It was my turn to say I had skated at this iconic facility whose glory days of ice were long gone. This was my moment to relive those days in New York, Chicago, Denver and in the mountains. I was on home turf and I was ready.
Not exactly...
If you are of a certain age, you remember a movie called The Graduate, starring Dustin Hoffman, where his character receives advice from a family friend, Mr. McGuire: "There's a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?"
I thought about it. Enough said.
Last edited by Bluebonnet; 04-22-2011 at 09:04 PM.
Michelle Kwan was in Singapore for the opening of a new rink with plastic ice. I didn't think or know it would help performances.
Whatever this special ice is, it's not right or fair to surprise the Worlds competitors. The Russians are naturally the only ones to have practised on it.
This is more than
It can't be the same as the Singapore ice. Kwan couldn't even do her spiral because of it. Apparently that ice feels a bit gluelike. You have to push all the time, because there's less glide. I can't imagine that's a suitable surface for the Worlds.
Might be entertaining though (a)
I think this is some sort of mis-translation. I seriously doubt that anyone has invented "special ice" that makes you jump higher and doesn't hurt your ankles.
Browning wrote in his book (or was it Hamilton, I don't remember) about the Worlds in Cinncinati in the 80s. The jumps were easier the way that the ice was designed, it was on a rubber? base. It's why, he thought (pretty sure it was Browning's book) Boitano took the chance at a quad.
I'll try to explain. For this ice they use twice purified and soften water. It makes ice more bouncy and reduces stress for knees and joints at landing. If someone knows Russian you can read it here.
http://news.mail.ru/sport/news/figure-skating/5770815/
Interesting. So, softened water makes a softer ice? I guess...Originally Posted by Neda
As long as skaters have no problem quickly adapting and adjusting to it, it's no big deal.
Skating on a popsicle? maybe?
The goal is to make ice structure closest to ideal crystal cell. It's possible only when water totally free from impurities. You can freeze a plate of dirty water and a plate of clean one and look which ice is better. Hard water contains minerals which also brakes ideal structure.
There is nothing bad if skaters have for competition better ice then they used to in practice. This even give them some advantage. The opposite case is much worse. In Bern (euro champ) ice was up-and-down and overfrozen. It made him to crumble and caused deep trails. For example Artur Gachinski in lp landed triple axel then got into a trail of some other skater, stumbled and fell. Do you prefer such kind of ice for your favorite athlete who will skate one of the last and may be the very last?
I read a while back about some ice which was mixed with milk to make it whiter. I think it was Beijing but don't know if it's a standard practice.
The quality of the ice can definitely make a difference. At the 2004 World Champioships in the ladies' qual;ifying round the ice was too hard at the morning session, and all the ladies were falling all over the place. By the second session the ice had softened up (melted) quite a bit and the second group of ladies did fine. TYis gave them an advantage in total points going into the short program.
I once saw a competition where there was a big puddle of water at one end of the rink, right in the Lutz corner. Each skater had the option of skating with or without yellow traffic cones marking off the area. (As I recall, Irina Slutskaya chose "without" and did a nifty maneuver where she squeezed the rail and shot out the other side.)
No conspiracy here
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks